YANGPYEONG — The South Korean Army opened its Army TIGER+ integrated future combat exercise to the media on the 14th at a training range in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, showcasing artificial intelligence combined with robots and unmanned systems.
The drill demonstrated how the Army plans to fight in the future, with AI, robots and unmanned systems operating alongside conventional forces.
The exercise followed a scenario in which a mechanized infantry company from the Army TIGER unit, supported by an integrated unmanned combat team, broke through an enemy anti-tank strongpoint.
Reconnaissance drones opened the drill. Several aircraft, including battalion-level multipurpose reconnaissance drones and swarm reconnaissance drones, flew over the battlefield and scanned the terrain. Footage from the drones was transmitted to the command post in real time. Based on that imagery, commanders identified enemy positions and ordered strikes. Tanks and mortars then opened fire, and suicide drones flew toward their targets.
The Cheonggwang anti-aircraft laser weapon shot down enemy drones overhead. The Biho Complex air defense system and a vehicle-mounted anti-drone system also neutralized simulated drone targets.
The next phase involved clearing a minefield. Tasks that currently require soldiers to enter dangerous areas themselves to scout and identify obstacles were instead carried out first by unmanned reconnaissance vehicles, reconnaissance drones and unmanned engineering systems.
While the unmanned systems checked the minefield and enemy security posture, the manned-unmanned teaming unit moved to secure key areas on both flanks. Unmanned systems and manned forces also worked together to breach obstacles. Attack drones provided overhead cover for friendly troops as engineering units cleared the minefield.
In one notable sequence, purely unmanned equipment, including unmanned reconnaissance vehicles and the K-CEV combat engineering vehicle, entered the enemy minefield ahead of troops along with reconnaissance drones and four-legged robots, opening a safe path for combat forces.
The exercise then moved to a deep penetration drill and a sustainment drill using unmanned systems.
A K2 tank broke through the enemy's collapsed defensive position and overwhelmed the opposing force. Core assets of the manned-unmanned combat system and K21 infantry fighting vehicles followed with successive attacks. A manned-unmanned squad dismounted in the target area, fought the final engagement and secured the objective.
Army TIGER+ is the Army's plan to convert its units to manned-unmanned teaming formations, with the goal of applying the concept across all units by 2040 in response to a shrinking pool of conscripts.
The Army plans to bring advanced technologies such as robotics and physical AI into the field, shifting a combat system built around troop numbers to one centered on unmanned assets, in order to maximize soldier survivability and operational efficiency.
Linking the effort to the government's three mega-projects, the Army said it would test private-sector technology in the field and feed the resulting operational data back into AI development, an approach it described as evolutionary military innovation. The Army said it also aims to help make South Korea a global leader in physical AI.
The Army expects that if Army TIGER+ is implemented up to the front line and robots are sent into dangerous areas instead of soldiers, it could sharply reduce casualties such as those from the recent landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone on the western front.
Brig. Gen. Nam Seung-hyun, deputy chief for military innovation at Army Headquarters, explained the concept at a briefing: "We want to boldly replace with robots anything that could injure or endanger people, and assign people to more important missions."
Gen. Kim Kyu-ha, Army chief of staff, who is leading the Army TIGER+ initiative, said he recently met Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, and found broad agreement on deploying robots and drones to reduce the risk of casualties inside the DMZ.
Still, significant practical hurdles remain before drones and robots can be sent into the DMZ.
"If a robot or drone we are operating unintentionally crosses north of the Military Demarcation Line, it could create an unexpected source of conflict," Kim said. "It is entirely possible technically, but there are many factors to consider, so it will take time."
